A Knight's Journal
by SUPERIOR Ratman
Summary: Lots of people like to say they know the story. The tale of Leonard and the White Knight, and how he and his company journeyed across the lands to save Princess Cisna from a cruel fate! Too bad they like to forget about the little people, and the part they played as well. A novelization of WKC, told through the eyes of the avatar.
1. Entry 1

Lots of people like to say they know the story. The tale of Leonard and the White Knight, and how he and his company journeyed across the lands to save Princess Cisna from a cruel fate!

What a joke.

Certainly, we ran all over the place looking for her majesty… but they only get the tale half right. They're always going on and on about Leonard, and White Knight this and White Knight that. Well, while I'll admit he played a major part, the way the bards sing it you'd think he was the only rescuer the Princess had. The only person on the team worth looking at.

Leonard and co save the day!

Bah. He wasn't even the one in charge. Really now, it was more Eldore's company than anything. The old man was the smartest, most experienced of us… he and he alone knew the most about the Knights, at least at that point in time… but I digress. The point is, there was more to the team than Leonard and the Princess.

We had Yulie, the tomboyish young woman who was great with a bow, and Caesar, the spear-launching master of Greede! Of course, one mustn't forget about Kara either. Despite all her baggage, despite all the pain and torment she put us through, she too was a part of the team… even if she herself didn't know it.

And then… there was me: spiky-haired, dark-skinned Gillian Glade, "The New Guy".

I never thought that the day I'd start working for Rapacci Wines would be the same day I'd be sent out on a quest of the upmost importance, but then, I suppose most people wouldn't. All I knew at the time was that a war was brewing, the princess was missing, and that Leonard had apparently managed to get himself some superpowers.

Oh how young I was back then… ignorant to the ways of the world. If I knew then what I know now… well, let's just say things would have gone much, _much_ differently. That is not to say that it turned out all that badly for us in the end, but again I seem to have gotten off topic. Perhaps, it would be easier if I started from the beginning. The true beginning, where this whole mess got started in the first place.

It began… with a birthday.

**Entry One: Balastor Plain**

The day had begun like any other; well, as much as any other day where foreign dignitaries were expected to arrive at least.

Simply put, Balandor was busy. How could it not be? It was the Princess's birthday, and even the Farians, who had been at war with Balandor for years, were coming to pay tribute; to bury old grudges, and set about issuing in a new era of peace.

I was already busy at Rapacci's, stocking the many wine barrels tossed about the store when he first appeared: Leonard, in all his glory, sporting that familiar brown vest and smiling like a buffoon. He hadn't yet noticed me, his eyes far too focused on avoiding the well-justified wrath of Rapacci. Really, on a day like today one couldn't afford to be late.

"Dammit Leonard!" I heard the old man shout, "Where the hell have you been?! You better not have forgotten what day it is!"

The brown-haired employee rolled his eyes, as if used to such treatment before stepping further inside.

"Yeah I know," he said, "today is the Princess' ball. She's introduced to society, and we step into the big time, got it."

"This is a momentous day for Rapacci Wines!" Rapacci explained, "The court picked us to supply wine for a party at the castle! We gotta do it right and earn the shop a bona fide royal commendation!" he paused for a moment, turning to stare at Leonard fiercely, "I've worked my fingers to the bone to get this far… you better not mess it up!"

Leonard sighed, running a hand through his hair before nodding back at his boss. "Look, I'll leave for the Parma winery now, and I'll be back with time to spare."

"Ha! You better!" Rapacci grinned, approaching the boy until there were but inches between them. "I rented a beastwain at the village for you. Use it to cart the wine back here like your life depends on it..." He suddenly threw an arm forward, shoving Leonard in the chest lightly, "Cause it does!"

"Alright, Alright!" Leonard sighed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Anything else I should know?"

"Yeah," Rapacci nodded, turning his head in my direction. "You know I was looking about getting a little extra help right? That's the new guy. Take him with you on your way out."

"Oh… alright then." Leonard said, leaving Rapacci to get back to his business before making to approach me instead.

"Hi there," he introduced himself. "I'm Leonard."

"Gillian," I replied. "My friends call my Gil."

"Gill?" Leonard asked, "Like… a fish or something?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"No," I said, "One L. Just, forget it."

I was about to say more when a sudden sound rang through the air, and before I knew what was happening, Leonard was gripping his head in pain, an empty barrel rolling across the floor as Rapacci growled at us both.

"Just get your butts moving!" he snapped, "You can talk on the road!"

"All right, gods…" Leonard complained.

Again, Rapacci left us to our devices.

"Is he always like that?" I asked.

Leonard frowned, "Yeah, unfortunately. Anyway, he's probably right. We should get moving if we're going to get back in time for the party."

I nodded, watching Leonard pull a small list from his back pocket before following him outdoors.

"Let's see…" I heard him mutter aloud, "We have to fetch barrels from the Parma warehouse using the beastwain. That's gonna be a lot of work!"

"No point complaining about it." I shrugged, "Sooner it's done the sooner we'll be able to kick back and relax right?"

"Yeah, you're right about that." Leonard agreed, "Come on then, let's get going."

Without another word he suddenly began walking down the street, leaving me to follow him. We managed to endure a few conversations together, mostly trading jokes and jibes about Rapacci's "slave-driving" before we ended up on Main Street. We walked down the large, cobble road eagerly, attempting to avoid the bustling crowds to the best of our ability. As expected, the streets were packed for the celebration, and it was hard to move without so much as bumping into another nameless soul.

"Weird…" I heard Leonard suddenly murmur from behind me, turning back to see him staring strangely at some old man in a green hood.

"What is it?" I questioned, receiving a curious shrug in response.

"It's nothing important…" Leonard attempted to assure me, "It's just… that guy. He feels a little… unsettling… somehow."

"It's probably nothing. There are all kinds of people coming here for the Princess' birthday, you should expect one or two shady characters, but the guards wouldn't have let them in if they appeared to be a threat right?"

"Yeah, you're right." Leonard agreed, "Which was why I thought it probably wasn't important…."

I opened my mouth to reply once more only to find myself suddenly shoved forward by a passing civilian.

"Oi," I ground out, "watch it would ya?!"

They didn't reply. Probably because they couldn't hear me, what with the sudden burst of activity that exploded around us. Leonard and I gazed around in confusion, not quite sure what was going on when the sound of music suddenly filled the air.

We followed the sound into a massive crowd that had formed at the gate, laying eyes upon the source of the noise.

Two great lizards marched through the streets slowly, dragging behind them a great carriage filled with jesters and other eager entertainers.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the head of the group shouted enthusiastically, "Young and old of Balandor! In honor of Her Highness' coming-of-age day, I give you wonders aplenty! Step right up, the Marcus Revelers have arrived!"

So it was a circus. Ball-riders and fire-breathers… I found myself watching them curiously as they continued down the road, repeating the short speech again and again as they came upon new crowds. I heard Leonard sigh beside me.

"I've never even seen a circus," he admitted, "this is gonna be some party."

"All the more reason for us to get there on time then." I replied.

He nodded, and we made for the gates.

**-WKC-**

Never let it be said that Balandor was lacking scenery. If there was one thing the Kingdom lacked, that was most certainly not it. The city was surrounded by great plains brimming with color, and had perhaps one of the greatest views of all time.

Balastor Plains, they were called. Roads and roads of smooth hills and green grass… and a few dirt roads to guide the occasional traveler along.

It was through there we would travel to reach the village of Parma, as Leonard was so kind to point out.

"The village is due south of here, pretty simple." He had explained, "There's not much to it, but it's a nice enough place."

There was a brief moment of silence.

"Say uh… you're new to Balandor, aren't you?" Leonard suddenly asked me.

I nodded. It was true enough. The village I hailed from was far from the green plains of Balastor, and I doubted I'd be seeing it again anytime soon. Nonetheless, the scenery was far different from what I was used to, something Leonard seemed only too eager to exploit.

"Heh, that's good then. I can show you the sights along the way! Sound good?"

"Yeah, this'll be my first time out here." I replied, "So it'll probably be good in case I ever have to come back out here alone some time."

"Alright, it's settled then. But make sure you keep an eye out for monsters. We're in the wild now, and as such… we'll have to make a few preparations."

I looked at Leonard with no small degree of annoyance on my face. Why'd he wait until now to bring this up? Preparations should have been done back in the city, _before_ we entered the wilds in the first place."

"I know, I know…" Leonard sighed, "It's a pain, but Rapacci said to go over this stuff with you, so listen up! The plains don't really have anything too bad to worry about. We may come across a few Vespids and Polkan, but otherwise we should be alright. Either way, I've brought along a few weapons to help sort things out should the need arise."

I suddenly found myself holding the weight of a Great Sword, despite knowing for a fact that Leonard didn't appear to have anything of the sort on him several minutes ago.

"Where did you-? How-?" I stared at Leonard blankly for a few seconds, attempting to rationalize in my mind how he'd been able to hide such a thing for so long.

He smiled mysteriously, slinging his own sword across his shoulder. "Never underestimate a storage boy. We can carry a lot more than people expect, I wouldn't be surprised if you start doing the same thing someday. Rapacci likes to work us all pretty hard after all."

"Uh… right." I murmured, heaving the sword across my back.

At least it wasn't _that_ heavy. I knew that I'd have to work hard to grow accustomed to it though.

"Let's… just get going already."

Leonard laughed as I started walking across the bridge, paying him no mind.

"Alright, Alright… no need to get your panties in a bunch. We'll keep to the road so we can reach Parma as soon as possible alright? You said it yourself, the sooner we get back the better off we'll be."

"Fine." I agreed, "But before we head out you don't have any more surprises to drop on me do you?"

"No, no…" Leonard smiled, "oh, but if we do end up running into a monster or two, try not to run off and get yourself outnumbered. The little guys around here aren't a pain to deal with on their own, but together they can pack a pretty mean punch!"

"Alright, but who are these little guys you're talking about anyway?" I asked, "I know about Vespids, but you were saying something else too…"

"What?" Leonard blinked in surprise, "You mean you've never seen a Polkan?"

"New to Balandor, remember?" I shrugged.

"Oh. Right." Leonard sighed, "Think of them as midgets with clubs. They have a little leaf on their head… eh, don't worry about it. You'll know one when you see it, they're aren't something to worry about anyway."

Oh Leonard. Even now I wonder why you went and said something so… stupid. You should have known better than to tempt karma like that.

We had only just crossed the bridge when it happened.

A single Polkan, standing directly in front of us, blocking our path.

It was an ordinary Polkan, small and green, with what I could only guess was a tree-mask wrapped around its head, with a single green leaf protruding from its tip. It waved its small club around at us angrily, almost as if it had heard what Leonard said, and was daring us to repeat the statement.

"See? Small, just like I said." Leonard explained, pointing at the small Polkan ignorantly.

Gods Leonard.

The Polkan's eyes narrowed dangerously, and it gripped its club with both hands. Leonard and I both tightened the grip on our weapons, expecting the creature to suddenly lash forth, but instead-

It slammed the club to the ground, wildly, emitting a loud, piercing shriek akin to something you'd expect from a newborn child.

"**EWYAAHAHHAHAAAAAAHHHH!"**

That was when the rumbling came.

It started small, like a tremor, but I knew better, and so did Leonard.

We both drew our weapons immediately, brandishing them dangerously as numerous Polkan and their similarly-minded Kobble cousins emerged from the trees, each carrying thick wooden clubs of their own. It only took seconds for them to surround us completely.

"I thought you said these things weren't dangerous." I muttered, glaring at my co-worker ever so slightly.

Leonard had the decency to look ashamed, if only for a moment. "Well, I said they weren't _alone…_"

The Polkan in the middle of the road suddenly raised its club to the sky, and then- despite not having a visible mouth- it _grinned_.

I don't know how I knew, but it did.

"**EWAH!"** it shrieked, and the army of small woodland creatures charged.

We did too.

We met on the grass, our steel colliding with wood as we began to tear through the creatures brutally. Leonard remained at my back, fighting off the Kobble that attempted to flank us from behind while I bashed and brutalized the poor Polkan that tried to overwhelm us.

My Greatsword swung in a horizontal arc, removing a head from its body before swinging back the other way and cleaving another Polkan in two.

I remember feeling the green blood of the creature fall upon me, and I scowled.

That moment of distraction had cost me. A Polkan had managed to get beside me, swinging its small club deep into the side of my right knee, forcing me halfway to the ground.

I grimaced, and quickly swung my blade at the beast, knocking it back with the flat end.

"There's too many!" I remember hearing Leonard cry out, "We'll have to retreat!"

Retreat?

Funny, seeing as he was the one saying they weren't anything to worry about in the first place. Oh well. No matter how funny it may be he was right. We were outnumbered, and outgunned. The only thing left to do was drive open a path through the middle, and run like hell until we saw Parma. I'd have to teach Leonard a lesson later for tempting fate, but it'd have to wait, for now, surviving was more important.

I tightened my grip on the Great Sword, and forced myself upright. My eyes gleamed dangerously; my arms lifting the heavy blade up above my head before slashing downward, cleaving yet another Polkan in two.

"Through here!" I shouted, not waiting for Leonard's response as I dashed forward, swinging my blade again wildly.

I could feel the Polkan's clubs bash against me from behind, but I kept running, hearing the sound of Leonard's own sword swiping them away.

We would not fall here. Not right outside Balandor's gate. It'd be disgraceful, if the creatures were truly as weak as Leonard had suggested.

The second I broke free from the crowd I took off, sliding the Great Sword back into its place on my back and risking a glance behind me. Leonard was right on my heels, his eyes wide with surprise and shock as the horde of Kobble and Polkan gave chase.

"I thought you said these things were weak?!" I couldn't help but snap.

"They are! This is a first for me too!" he shouted back.

His eyes suddenly widened further.

"Wait! Up ahead, look out!"

"Huh?" I turned my head forward, glancing at the road I was taking to see what he was talking about.

Oh.

A Vespid.

A giant wasp.

So they were present here in Balandor too. No matter, unlike the Polkan, Vespids were something I _was_ adept in handling. They were little more than overgrown bugs after all, and I had no qualms in treating them as such.

Reaching for my Great Sword, I leapt forward, spinning in place as I drew the blade from its holster.

"Out of my way!" I roared, driving the blade forth and running the bug through.

Its pincer came mighty close to piercing me, but the damage was already done. It wriggled and hissed as I stabbed my blade down into the dirt before pulling it from the body.

The Vespid twitched, but it didn't get back up.

"Oh, wow." Leonard blinked, slowing as he caught up to me. "So you know how to fight after all."

"Just bugs." I explained. "We had something of a pest problem back home. It was up to me to deal with it."

"Oh." Leonard said. "Anyway, we're not out of the woods yet. If we don't keep moving that crowd will catch up with us any minute now."

"Bit late for that." I grimaced, pointing behind him.

Yet again, the crowd had caught up.

Then again, we'd never lost them in the first place.

"R-Run!" Leonard shouted; I didn't need to be told twice.

We both took off sprinting, Leonard several paces ahead of me as he continued to run toward Parma's gate.

I knew the village was close, but I didn't know it was _that _close.

Luckily the gate had been kept open for village travel, if it had been closed, it might've cost us precious time trying to climb over that wooden fence. Leonard reached the gate first, skidding to a halt and turning around to usher me through. The second I passed he pushed forward, slamming the fence shut just as several Polkan slammed into it stupidly.

We staggered back in relief, gazing back at the small creatures quietly.

"Why don't they just climb over?" I found myself asking.

It wasn't like the fence was all that tall, and even if it was, with their numbers they could have easily staggered over one another to get inside.

"It's because we're not in their territory anymore." Leonard shrugged. "The only reason they probably get so upset in the first place is because everyone's always trampling around as if they own the place. This probably wasn't the first time they went completely crazy on someone. Still, you rarely see anyone get killed by a Polkan… usually they just thwack you for a long period of time and then send you on your way."

I grimaced, remembering what that "thwacking" felt like as I idly rubbed my bruised leg.

Oh well.

I'd have to get those Polkan back later. They may have won this time… but no one ever pummeled Gillian Glade and got away with it.


	2. Entry 2

Parma Village: A village of wine, known all across the lands for its relaxation, beauty, and food. It didn't look like much at first, but maybe I'd have thought differently if I knew we'd run into the loudmouth while we were there. – From the Journal of G.G.

**Entry Two**

As we stumbled into the village, Leonard once again took point.

"Here we are," he smiled, glancing out into their small but gentle surroundings, "Welcome to Parma."

"Looks pretty tiny." I replied.

"Maybe, but bigger isn't always better. Would you rather we had to force our way through a crowd again?" Leonard asked me.

I shook my head in reply. I knew he was referring to Balandor, but the word crowd only served to make me remember the horde of Polkan that had chased us down back on the plains. A cold shiver ran down my back at the thought of them.

"Hey!" another voice suddenly called out from behind us, breaking my thoughts. "You're on time for once."

Leonard and I turned, coming face to face with a purple-haired girl around our age, dressed in a yellow and brown dress with long fur boots. I frowned; not recognizing her. She must have been an associate of Leonard's.

"Yulie!"

Guess I was right.

"How've you been there Leonard?" Yulie asked, opening her arms wide in greeting as she approached us. Without waiting for a reply, she turned to me. "Oh! You must be the new guy. Rapacci told me you were coming. Glad you can make it."

I nodded once. "Thanks, glad to be here, not that Leonard helped or anything."

"H-Hey!" Leonard complained, "Now why would you go and say something like that?"

"You tempt fate too much." I shrugged. It seemed like a decent answer at the time, "I can tell just being around you is going to cause me a whole bunch of problems."

"It only happened once." Leonard said, "And besides, we're both still alive, I think that's something to be pretty happy about. Don't you?"

"Sure, as long as we don't get ambushed on the way back." I agreed.

Yulie looked between us, looking confused all the while. I wasn't all that surprised. It wasn't like she knew what we were talking about after all. When it looked like we wouldn't stop for another several minutes, she raised a hand to her mouth and coughed, dragging our attention back to the task at hand.

"Right… Anyway, the wine's all set to go. Follow me."

It didn't take long for us to reach our destination. As I said before, Parma was a tiny village... It'd take no more than a few minutes to run circles around the place a good three or four times.

Yulie led us through the street, and back towards what I could only imagine was the town inn. It didn't look like much, but then, the inn wasn't why we were there in the first place.

Leonard suddenly came to an abrupt stop, staring slack-jawed at the great beast suddenly blocking our path. Given its large size and the presence of our most precious cargo latched upon its rear, I could but assume that this was the "beastwain" Rapacci was said to have rented for us.

"You must be joking." Leonard frowned, not moving from his spot as he gazed upon the lazy creature.

"Hey! Don't let his looks fool you." Yulie demanded, "He's a big old pussycat."

"I bet. Is this thing really capable of carrying the wine all the way back to Balandor for us?" I asked.

"Definitely." Yulie nodded, only to frown upon seeing my disbelief, "What? I'm serious! He may not look like much, but he can really pull his weight when he puts his mind to it! Promise!"

I folded my arms and exchanged a glance with Leonard. Somehow we just could wrap our minds around the idea. Even if it was supposed to be some great cargo carrier, the thing looked old enough to be my grand uncle! It's legs appeared worn and weak, and its face looked even more weary and uninterested. Was it really age I was seeing, or was the creature before me just trying to be lazy? More importantly, could we really rely on it…? Whatever concerns I had thought of raising were interrupted with Yulie's following words.

"Now then," Yulie spoke up, "I guess we should be getting ready to go huh? Just hang on one second, we need to track down the driver."

"Driver?" I asked.

Yulie nodded. "Raus. He said he'd be here by now… but maybe he got caught up somewhere."

"What? Is there any way we can get a move on without him?" Leonard asked, "We promised Rapacci we'd be back before the celebration started."

"You promised Rapacci huh…?" Yulie frowned, "Tough luck. Sorry, but Raus is the only one who can get this fella up and moving."

"Of course he is." I sighed, "An old beastwain, an absent driver, this really is turning into quite the day."

"No need to be such a downer," Leonard said, "this Raus guy is in Parma right? If he is, it can't take that long for us to find him."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. At least we have that going for us. Score one for tiny villages."

"Actually, I think I have a good idea of where he might be." Yulie cut in, "You guys sit tight! I'll be back in a second!"

"Wait, Yulie!" Leonard shouted, to no avail.

The girl had already made it halfway down the street by the time he'd finished his shout, and clearly she had no intention to turn back.

"Yeesh, I knew she could move, but wow."

I turned to Leonard expectantly, "So she does that a lot then, run away I mean?"

"Well… it happens every once in a while." Leonard shook his head, "That's not important. I know Yulie told us to wait here, but it'd probably be faster if we jumped in to help look too. She may not look it, but Yulie's not exactly the greatest when it comes to finding people. I wouldn't be surprised if she winds up back here empty-handed in the next few… oh, there she is."

Just as Leonard had said, Yulie was walking back, with no Raus in sight. I didn't know which to find more surprising: the fact she was walking back only after leaving several seconds ago, or that Leonard had actually said something right for once.

"Back so soon?" he asked, raising his eyebrow coyly at the girl.

Yulie's face flushed as she rejoined us, and she quickly turned her head to the side to hide her embarrassment.

"S-Shut up. I just- He wasn't where I thought he was okay?"

"It's fine." Leonard laughed, "Like I was telling Gill here, it'd probably be better if we split up to look for him anyway. What do you say?"

"That's fine with me." I said.

"It's… agreeable." Yulie ground out, slowly. From the looks she was giving us, I could tell that Raus was really gonna be in for it once Yulie got her hands on him.

"Great, then I'll take the area back here. Yulie, you just came from down the street, so how about you check out the Guild over there? As for you Gill-"

"I'll check the stores down there." I said, pointing back the way Yulie came. "She only looked in the one place after all, so it'd make sense to double back and make sure."

Leonard nodded his agreement, "Good idea. We'll meet back here in five. Is everyone alright with that?"

We all nodded.

"Good, then let's find Raus!"

I let Yulie and Leonard disappear into their own areas before moving toward mine. Look for Raus… with the luck we've been having I wouldn't have been surprised if he had somehow ended up halfway to Albana before we got here. I sighed, entering the first store on my right and taking a solid glance around.

From the looks of the place, I had appeared to be in an armory of sorts. Luckily, it didn't appear to be that large, nor were there numerous amounts of people inside. In fact, there were only two.

"Welcome!" the large, burly man behind the counter exclaimed cheerfully, "Welcome to Ortegus' Swords, first-rate suppliers of steel, weaponry, and all beast-hunting needs! May I help you find anything?"

"Not unless anyone here goes by the name of Raus." I muttered, rather rudely in fact.

Luckily, the man seemed to take it in stride.

"Sorry, but I haven't seen Raus come in here all day." He chuckled, "What's the matter? He in some kind of trouble?"

"Not the kind you're thinking of," I shrugged, "I'm from Rapacci Wines. He's supposed to drive the Beastwain out front back to Balandor, but since he's not around…"

"Ah… I think I understand. If that's the case, you may want to check the old horse ranch out front. He likes to sleep down there when he's not running some kind of errand. Odds are he probably overslept."

Overslept huh? I suppose I could let it slide if that was the case. I myself knew the feeling after all.

"The horse ranch huh…? Thanks for the help." I nodded politely and turned to leave.

"Ah… hang on one moment."

I paused mid-stride, turning my head back ever so slightly to regard the man.

"Yeah?"

"You wouldn't leave without buying something after all that help now would you?" he asked, rubbing his hands together greedily.

Damn. I should have known something was fishy. Still, the man had a point. Who knew how long I would have been searching if it hadn't been for his tip. I glanced inside my pouch, checking for the amount of spare gold I had laying around.

It was five minutes later that I left, 140 gold poorer, and with a shield I didn't need. Oh well, maybe I could pawn it off to Leonard or something? He owed me anyway, after getting me into that mess with the Polkan.

Tucking the Shield away behind my Greatsword, I followed the road down to the front of the village and turned right, the same way the armory owner said led to the ranch. True to his word, several horses immediately came into view, along with the unmistakable presence of a small, rabbit-eared man sleeping against a tree stump.

Raus.

"Ah ha! Raus, you oaf!" Yulie's voice suddenly snapped out from behind me, a firm karate chop smashing into the man's head.

The hell? Where'd she come from? And she brought Leonard too! Don't tell me, they were sitting back and letting me do all the work?!

"Ohh, dear me… Did I doze off again?" Raus asked suddenly, his voice far more high-pitched than I was expecting. Actually, now that I could actually see his face, he looked much younger than what I was expecting too. I suppose his oversleeping wasn't a far stretch then.

Yulie grimaced, grabbing Raus by the scruff of his neck and glaring at him angrily.

"This is where you were hiding?! I told you not to be late!"

He kicked her in the wrist, his small body giving him a unique advantage against the woman before scrambling behind Leonard for safety. It might have been funny, if we weren't running behind schedule as it was.

"Please don't be mad Miss Yulie!" Raus pleaded, "I am so sorry!"

"I guess we can cut the guy some slack." Leonard sighed, "He didn't mean any harm after all. And… it's not like I've never overslept before either."

"Tch," Yulie frowned, folding her arms angrily, "You're both slackers!"

"Regardless, he's here now." I decided to speak, "Which means he can get that ol' brute up and moving."

"Yeah… I guess you're right."

Yulie's assurances that she wouldn't attack didn't serve to make Raus shiver any less. He continued to hide behind Leonard all the way back up to the Beastwain, and somehow, it was sunset before we finally got a move on.

The beastwain yawned lazily, its fluffy jaws snapping wide as Raus sat on the edge of the cart eagerly.

"There!" Yulie sighed in relief, "Now you're all set."

"You know… when you said that all the wine was packed and ready to go when we arrived… I was hoping you meant more than just one box." I spoke freely, my eye twitching ever so slightly at the time we'd spent dawdling around.

"Yeah, that time spent packing really put us behind." Leonard agreed, "It's already starting to get dark! We need to haul cask if we're going to get back on time. And we will get back on time. Don't forget, my life's on the line here!"

"Okay Leonard," Yulie said with a smile, obviously holding something back, "Like I mentioned before, Raus here will be driving the beastwain."

The small rabbit-man looked down at us with a giggle, the reins to the beast held firmly in his hands.

"Er… Hello. Happy to assist, Chief!" he paused for a moment, "By the way, if I happen to doze off… again... kindly wake me up before this beastie remembers I forgot to feed it breakfast and turns me into a late lunch!"

I folded my arms. "If you fall asleep again, you'd deserve to be a late lunch… but I suppose we can help out. Without you this thing wouldn't move after all."

Leonard subtly elbowed me in the ribs before giving Raus a wry smile.

"Uh… right. We'll do that."

"He's kind of weird, but he gets the job done." Yulie sighed, "Anyway, off we go!"

"We? You're coming too?" Leonard asked loudly.

With how loud he said it, you'd think he didn't want her tagging along or something. Apparently Yulie must've thought the same thing, because when she turned back around to face us again, it was with a solid frown.

"Well, yeah! I wouldn't miss this party for the world! What? You don't want the extra help?!"

"Well…" Leonard shrugged.

I rolled my eyes. "Come on Leonard, you're better off not arguing about something she's going to do anyway."

"Listen to the new guy." Yulie agreed, "Now come on, we're late enough as it is."

Leonard groaned.

"Great. Now I have to hear her complain too."

"It won't be that bad." I assured him, "Besides, she has a point. We could use the extra help, if you get us surrounded by Polkan again with that fate-tempting mouth of yours." I began to walk past him, tossing the shield to him rather roughly as I passed. "Oh, and Leonard, you owe me 140 guilder for that shield. The least you could do, considering what happened earlier."

"What?"

"You don't want to tell Rapacci the reason we were late getting back was because you couldn't defend against a Kibble do you?" Another groan gave me my response. "Thought so."

-WKC-

Never let it be said that I enjoy the plains of Balastor.

We'd only just started the trip back when we were accosted by Polkan, again. Luckily, with Yulie's welcome addition to the Winery team, we were able to hold our own against the massive crowd. Armed with her tiny dagger, something I did not foresee her having, Yulie had smashed her way through the crowd, giving us a clear path to attack.

Leonard had watched the entire scene in shock. I guess he wasn't expecting Yulie to be such a good fighter, though even I had expected her to be a bit more… ranged.

During our brief distraction a Polkan had managed to sneak up on me, and yet again, I found myself bearing a mighty bruise to the legs.

Ouch.

Still, it could have been worse. At least the tiny monstrosities had yet to attack my nether regions. _That's_ something I don't think I'd be able to recover from.

"Behind you!" Leonard suddenly shouted, and I swung my blade in response to his words.

I felt the blade dig deep into one of the critters, and soon followed up with a horizontal slash to the right, hacking deep into the Kibble's face.

It fell back defeated, leaving me to annihilate yet another of its brethren eager for revenge.

Foolish. Unlike last time, we had managed to separate them rather nicely. Leonard had spoken the truth after all. While it was true that they were a force to be reckoned with while traveling en masse, alone they were… pathetic, for lack of a better term. Another single sweep of my blade and the being fell over dead.

Silence reigned several moments afterward, and for once, I felt at peace among the plains.

"Whew. That takes care of them." Leonard said in relief, "I never would have thought they'd sit out here waiting for us."

"Well, now they'll know to regret it." I said, kicking one of the broken Polkan clubs to the side. "They never should have tried to stop us from getting back on time."

"You're a pretty violent person aren't you?" Leonard couldn't help but ask.

"Isn't everyone?"'

"No." Leonard answered immediately, only to pause a second later, "Well, maybe." He shook his head. "Anyway, it's safe now Raus, bring her on down."

"G-Good." The rabbit-man squeaked from behind us, guiding the beastwain down through the path back to Balandor. "I was worried for a second there. It's a good thing Miss Yulie was there to help!"

"Yeah," Leonard admitted begrudgingly, "I never expected her to lash out like that… and with a dagger no less. Good job, Yulie."

"Thanks Leonard," the purple-haired berserker smiled, "now let's keep moving. I want to make it back in time for the party!"

"Yeah, yeah… take a number." Leonard sighed.

"They have those here?" I asked curiously.

"What?" Leonard stared at me incredulously, "No, I meant-" he sighed, "Just forget it."

"You tell me to do that a lot."

"That's because you make me think harder than I need to."

"Yeah," Yulie smirked, "you have to be gentle with Leonard. Really, it's a miracle he can do anything by himself at all."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Leonard asked.

"Well, you have to admit you walked right into that one." I told him, "I mean come on. "You make me think harder than I need to"? Who says that, really?"

Leonard frowned, opening as if to say something more on the subject but then... he just stopped. For a moment I thought Yulie and I had actually upset him, but it didn't take long to realize that wasn't the case. Leonard's eyes were narrowed, and it almost looked as if he was actually concentrating on something.

"Wait. Something's wrong."

"What? Oh come on Leonard. We were just fooling around." Yulie sighed.

"No. It's not that," Leonard said again, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "It's just… don't you hear that?"

Raus blinked down at the three of us strangely. "What's the matter Chief?"

"Sssh!"

He reeled back in surprise, but the three of us were already scouring the area. Leonard said he heard something… but what? I glanced to the trees in front of us. I stared at the mountains in the far distance, but I didn't hear, or see, anything! A sudden flock of birds flying from the trees broke my thoughts.

"What-?" And then I heard it. It was not unlike the Polkan ambush Leonard and I faced on our way to Parma. It was a rumble. Not a soft, gentle rumble like those of the Polkan and Kibble before it, but a loud, rough rampage that shook the very earth itself. I could feel the dirt shake beneath me. I could see the grass shiver and quake in fear.

Leonard and Yulie moved back, drawing their weapons in sync as they moved to guard the beastwain. I too, stumbled backward, drawing the Greatsword in preparation for battle.

The rumble grew louder, and louder, the sensation of fear bubbling in my chest until I was sure that it would burst. Just what was it that we were about to face?

I didn't have to wait long for my answer.

Its hand appeared first. Large and ugly, it curled around one of the rock faces in front of us, breaking and splintering the very stone and digging its nails in deep. Leonard's eyes widened in surprise, and instantly he took several steps back with the rest of us.

He knew what it was, and by the looks of things, so did Raus and Yulie.

I knew I should have looked up what monsters were often encountered around Balandor before we left. Despite the tension flowing about the area, I made a mental note to buy a beast compendium when we were back in Balandor. If we made it back to Balandor.

My thoughts immediately ceased as the thing came into full view.

A giant, the size of three beastwains combined, stumbled onto the scene. Its body was of a thick green color, riddled with muscle as hard as stone and a face as fierce as a devil. It gazed upon us quietly for several seconds, its large, brutal club gripped softly in its left hand as it stroked its flowing orange beard curiously.

It was a Sylvan Savage, more commonly known as a Troll.

"Dammit!" Leonard cursed, steadying his grip, "It must have smelled the wine!"

"Oh no!" Raus shivered, "What do we do Chief?!"

You? Nothing. You could barely control the beastwain earlier, what do you think you could do facing that thing? Nope. It wasn't anything personal, but Raus, at the very least, would have to stay behind.

Leonard seemed to have the same idea, because he swung his arm out to motion Raus back before he spoke to Yulie and I.

"Simple. We fight!"


End file.
